The Invention of the Modern Chinese Self

In the ethics of late-twentieth century China the naked, new-born self is born a citizen, a little helper and a pillar of society. . . The roles of citizen, little helper and pillar of society into which the child is welcomed today were not known to the child's forebears earlier this century when the identity of the self was up for negotiation along with the rest of the empire (Fitzgerald 25).

Issues of identity and the relationship of the self to the state served as background and subject for art works early in this century, as can be seen in the works of artists such as Xu Beihong and Lin Fengmian.

The shift in thinking about the self was part of the process of modernization in China and has also been related to a philosophical change in Chinese thought. China made an intellectual journey from Confucianism to Communism in the century between the middle of the nineteenth century and the middle of the twentieth century. In the Taiping era, Confucianism prevailed, while by the middle of the next century Confucianism was rejected in favor of a new and foreign (though modified to the Chinese situation) Marxist ideology. Confucianism was long the primary influence in Chinese thought,

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hin, and Tan 80). Fitzgerald says that once the awakened self had been classified as a citizen and once its community had been identified as the Chinese nation-state, the relationship between self and community emerged in discussions of the stage itself (Fitzgerald 36). The shift was from a Confucian connection to a particular mode of living embedded in service to a spiritual and philosophical community to a connection more to a nation-state and so to a polity. Xu Beihong was a vocal advocate for change for Chinese art in this century. This artist studied in a number of foreign countries and learned a good deal about the Western influences that would come to have an impact on Chinese art and Chinese society. He also learned a good deal about traditional Chinese art from Xu Dazhang, his father. Xu Beihong showed considerable interest in naturalism, based on his father's admonition to observe nature closely and to paint what he sees (Chu 193-197). Lin Fengmian also shows both Chinese and Western traits in his paintings. Clarke notes that for Xu Beihong it was the academic tradition of french art which was the most useful, while Lin Fengmian differed from Xu by becoming involved with Western modernist art. This was art t
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Lin Fengmian, Chinese Self, Farewell Xu, Confucianism Communism, Te-Hui Confucianism, Xu Beihong, Chin Tan, Lin Fengmian's, China Japan, Western Cubism, xu beihong, lin fengmian, de bary, relationship self, chinese art, traditional chinese, de bary chin, identity self, century middle, bary chin, chin tan, bary chin tan, helper pillar society, yeh te-hui confucianism, little helper pillar,
Approximate Word count = 1580
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)